Industrial plants in South Carolina pumped more than 46 million pounds of chemicals into the air in 2007, with coal-fired electric generators, paper mills and chemical companies responsible for the bulk of the pollution, new data by the Environmental Protection Agency shows.

Six of the top ten air pollution emitters were coal plants, including SCE&G facilities in Wateree and Berkeley counties, a Post and Courier Watchdog analysis of the EPA's Toxic Release Inventory shows. Both released more than 3 million pounds of pollutants, mostly hydrochloric and sulfuric acids, which contribute to acid rain.